On a three-meter-high earthen wall, SirLaughsALot and ButaYaarou assumed their roles as watchmen for the first night shift. They had opted for this role thanks to having the flexibility of working from home, but they quickly regretted not wrestling for the daytime shift.
The two players stood behind a parapet formed by hardened mud while peering into the dark forest twenty meters away. From this vantage point, they could see as far as two hundred meters into the forest. From time to time, strange noises would creak from the depths; they would even see flickering shadows darting through the darkness like a ghost. It was eerie beyond belief. At least the sky was a canvas of countless stars — a sight unfounded in the metropolises of reality.
Nevertheless, this didn’t stop them from getting shivers down their spines, so they passed the time by engaging in sporadic conversation.
“Hah… Wouldn’t it be great if this game had a built-in browser? I could watch some anime to distract myself… Heck, I could even play some games. Really, can’t we use bots to guard the wall?” ButaYaarou grumbled.
“Built-in browser? Have you ever seen an MMORPG with a built-in browser before? Besides, you can purchase an e-book on the virtual shop to read or meditate, even. Not that this is the perfect time for that,” SirLaughsALot, or SirLaughs for short, replied. “Speaking of which, the real event of this update should be happening soon, right?”
“Mm, at least that’s what the official website and the headmaster told us.” ButaYaarou’s face turned stern as he kept a wary eye on the dark forest. “So far, though, I haven’t seen any signs of it. How are the other players’ preparations going?”
“All online players are gathering nearby and getting that ready. Look over there, they’re checking up on the traps.” SirLaughs pointed at the distant dots of light.
Luckily for them, other than the two of them standing guard, several other players were bustling around the earthen wall, conducting final checks on the preparations. They carried torches made from resin, their glow reminiscent of fireflies in the darkness.
“Ahh… I’m not in the mood to practice a meditation technique right now.! I really want to start fighting those invaders and shooting ma—”
“Shush!” SirLaughs suddenly became alert and made a silencing gesture. “Don’t make a sound… I think our enemies are here…”
“Are you serious…?” ButaYaarou’s voice quivered.
Had the main storyline finally begun?
The two players nervously ducked into cover to hide themselves. While carefully peeking toward the forest, their hands were already firmly on the trigger of the crossbows, bolts ready to fly. Soon, several man-sized spiders emerged, slithering from within the foliage, seemingly observing the area. The players held their positions, adhering to the established protocol…
***
“Master, the players on guard duty have alerted me that the invasion has begun,” Lizbeth reported, her eyes scanning the footage of the forest. “Several Lesser Hiveborne Arachnids have been spotted on the periphery, with their main horde lurking a few hundred meters deeper in the forest. These are just their scouts, apparently.”
Victor nodded. “I’m aware.”
He could see all of this on the System’s map, with many red dots filling the screen. He noted a group of around ten human-sized spiders a few hundred meters ahead of the main group. Clearly, they were sending scouts ahead which, oddly enough, hadn’t triggered any of the traps.
However, this was all part of Victor’s plan. In addition to the ordinary traps set by the players, he had contributed by placing various magic traps and arrays. These spiders were, after all, a type of hive-minded magical beast, and once one of them triggered a trap, the other traps would become less and less effective. Only the most bizarre magic arrays and spells could counter them. Thus, Victor would be hard-pressed to create a trap capable of dispatching them in one fell swoop if not for the ingenuity of the players.
For the past week, Victor engaged in extensive discussions with players on the forum and Discord to gather ideas for defense against the impending invasion. Of course, he had to assume his role as the game’s promotional manager while doing so. But the players didn’t disappoint him in the least. They suggested multiple intriguing strategies, albeit the one most realistic was reliant on the enemies underestimating them and not triggering the traps.
To prevent scouts from stumbling onto the traps prematurely, Victor had used illusionary arrays to conceal them. Illusionary magic and arrays typically fell under the broader category of spells, a subject Victor had taken back at the Arcane Radiance College. Fortunately, he hadn’t slacked off in his studies.
“Have you informed the players?”
For this “event,” Victor had issued a special hunting mission. For each Lesser Hiveborne Arachnid slain by a player, they would earn a generous reward of one hundred merit points. This single kill equated to the effort of a full day’s worth of wood chopping or field plowing!
In cases where the arachnids met their end through traps or other methods, the merit points would be evenly distributed among all participants involved. Also, if the players died fighting the arachnid horde, they would not be charged with any merit points deduction. Was it even possible for any headmaster NPCs out there to be more generous than him?
“Yup! All done and in position. We just gotta twiddle our thumbs till the enemies are in place,” said Lizbeth with a mischievous twinkle in her golden eyes.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Victor didn’t say a word more and kept a close watch on the players. Of the 104 total players, exactly one hundred of them joined this “event.” The rest couldn’t participate because they had pressing matters in real life. Not that such a minuscule number would make a difference in this case. On paper, one hundred against five hundred would result in a one-sided massacre unless the lesser number had the advantage in other aspects, which was the very thing they were relying on.
Still, what intrigued Victor the most was the reward for this mission. Insight for a breakthrough… Will this propel me to the rank of Elemental Adept, finally achieving the status of an official Magus?
If that were truly the case, then the mission’s importance was immeasurable. Becoming an official Magus was the ultimate aspiration for all acolytes, a goal worth pursuing at any cost. Some desperate ones, nearing the end of their lifespans, would resort to elixirs for forced rank advancement, even if it meant sacrificing further progression.
Thus, the reward was worth the risk that came with it.
Currently, the atmosphere among the players was filled with thrill and fervor. To them, this invasion felt like a war they could never experience in real life, and that excitement was understandable. But while the players were pumped up, Victor remained calm and focused. His mind was a whirlwind of strategy as he simulated every possible scenario.
Soon, under the cloak of night, the arachnid horde started approaching. Their eyes gleamed with malevolence as they closed in, ready to unleash a devastating assault. Victor hadn’t spotted their queen yet, but his observations had narrowed down several potential hiding spots in the center of the horde. If he were their queen, he’d undoubtedly hide in the safest location.
Just as it seemed that the clash between the earthen wall and the arachnids was inevitable, the ground beneath their many legs suddenly sprang to life with a complex network of traps and snares. The forest erupted into a chaotic symphony of clicks, hisses, and snaps as all manner of traps ensnared the invaders in a deadly dance, thwarting their advance.
Pitfalls appeared out of nowhere, leading to concealed spikes and thorns. Unaware spiders were trapped and skewered alive, spewing arachnid blood in their frantic struggle. Enormous, serrated thorn blades swung down from the trees, decimating the main body of the horde. Hidden nozzles released streams of immobilizing substances mixed from the sap of ironthorn trees and other biological matter, restricting their movements.
However, none of these ordinary traps were a match to what Victor placed himself. Strange and mysterious symbols were glowing brightly as they discharged bursts of Anemo elemental magic; each of these successive magic traps killed at least a few of them. He had prepared all of this over an entire week, with each of the traps taking an hour to make; he was lucky that the Thornwood Flowers were able to be used as the catalyst, exempting him from spending AP.
The horde of arachnids seemed endless at first, but dwindled with each passing second. Their agonized hisses and insect screams melded into an eerie and spine-tingling melody that pervaded the forest. Yet still, the grand trap that was the pièce de résistance, designed to annihilate the entire horde remained unsprung.
“Is it about time?” Victor muttered, his eyes fixed on the traps, compelling the arachnid horde to scatter in a specific direction.
Just then, a player on the watch cast {Flame Dart} at a seemingly innocuous spot. As soon as the flaming projectile struck the ground, it triggered a ground-shaking burst. A wall of fire erupted and rapidly expanded, setting off a chain reaction of explosions and creating a colossal ring of fire that encircled the entire horde like a flame dancing in the night. Hidden beneath the ground were trenches filled with wooden barrels containing highly flammable liquid.
With no escape route, the arachnid horde faced an inevitable doom. If nothing unexpected happened, they would all be wiped out sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, Victor refrained from hoping for such a miracle. He was acutely aware that the fate of the academy and everyone within it hung in the balance as the next phase of the strategy unfolded.
***
Five minutes earlier.
A group of ten or so players — primarily from the first batch who were at the first-stage Initiate Attunement and able to cast magic — gathered near the earthen wall. Leading them was Alfred, a red-haired player who looked no different from any other high school teenager. Despite the gruesome spectacle of the spider monsters being massacred by the traps in a gruesome display, he wasn’t even the slightest bit fazed.
“Should we cast the spell now?” inquired one of the players, his anticipation evident.
Alfred raised a hand, urging patience. “Wait… The enemies haven’t fully reached the trap’s location; if we rush, the result won’t be satisfactory.”
When it came to strategy, both Alfred and Storm were skilled, with Storm having a slight edge. However, when it came to leadership, Alfred was the better of the two. He might not have devised the entire strategy, but he was the best choice for rational decision-making and guiding a group of players into war.
Indeed, this was a war unlike any other they had experienced. The pressure and thrill were almost tangible.
Most other games only featured wars on a limited scale. In fact, most couldn’t even be called wars and only battles at most. But here, it was not a mere battle; it was a full-fledged war. An actual war would have hundreds to thousands taking up arms and fighting to the death as a minimum requirement.
Before long, Alfred’s mental calculations signaled that the arachnid horde had finally reached the desired location. So, he turned to his friend Prominence, the first among them to master the Pyro spell {Flame Dart}.
“Ready?” he asked.
Prominence grinned confidently, holding a fancy crimson magic staff that had become the envy of the players. “As ready as you are! Let me show you the skill of a pro-FPS gamer! You know me; I can snipe a target from a kilometer away with my eyes closed.”
“Damn, bro. Bragging your borrowed red Aghanim.”
“Aghanim, my ass. That’s obviously Dagon.”
“What are you talking about? It’s undoubtedly the Glowing Wand.”
“Go away!”
Looking satisfied over the others’ reactions, Prominence said, “Now, watch and learn.” He then chanted, “{Flame Dart}.” A flaming projectile appeared above his staff and streaked toward a specific target two hundred meters away.
Boom!
Upon impact, the ground erupted in flames, igniting the wooden barrels containing highly flammable liquid they had strategically placed days prior.
“Hah! See?” Prominence raised his hands in triumph, but then almost fell to his knees in the next moment if not for the magic staff that he used as support holding his posture. He weakly said, “Ugh… the aftermath of casting a spell…” and held his head. “Still, I must say this wouldn’t be this easy without the Assist Casting feature.”
The rest of the players nodded in agreement. They knew full well that mastering a spell in this game was no easy task like in any other game. Furthermore, even if they had advanced into becoming true acolytes, there was a limit to how many times they could cast a spell. Alfred felt that the game developers’ intention of making it as realistic as possible was beside the point for the magic part.
That aside, the ensuing chaos spelled disaster for the arachnid horde. The air filled with the acrid stench of scorched flesh as the flames consumed them in droves. Even Alfred and the others, standing a hundred meters away from the nearest fire source, could feel the intense heat.